Coast Guardsman dies when boat rammed off Calif

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (AP) - The commanding officer of the U.S Coast Guard cutter Halibut says he is devastated by death of a crewmember in a collision between a suspected smuggling boat and a small Coast Guard boat off Southern California.

Lt. Stewart Sibert has told a press conference in Marina del Rey, Calif., that Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III was the "glue" that held his crew together.

Horne suffered a fatal head injury Sunday when the suspect boat rammed an inflatable chase boat deployed from the Halibut in a drug interdiction operation.

In an emotional statement, Sibert credited Horne with saving three lives a few months ago while responding to a sailboat in trouble during terrible sea conditions, and likely many more lives over his career.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)